Al C. Kalmbach

The rail line that served his relative's business (Fidler-Skilling Fuel & Dock) was the Ahnapee and Western Railway which ran through Door and Kewaunee counties.. His interest in model railroads came from helping his friend Frank P. Zeidler (later mayor of Milwaukee) with electrical problems on the O gauge layout Zeidler was building.

Al was hooked and began construction in 1928 of his own layout, the Great Gulch, Yahoo Valley & Northern, in his parents' attic.

Kalmbach, seeing the interest people had in the operating O Scale layouts at the 1933 Chicago Century of Progress Exposition, turned to one of his lifelong loves — railroads — for the topic of his first magazine.

The magazine was well received by model railroaders, and the young publisher carried the entire press run (272 copies) by streetcar to be mailed.

Model Railroader (Kalmbach eventually dropped its definite article) became profitable after three years.

In 1940, business was good enough for Kalmbach to launch another magazine about railroads in general with the simple title of Trains.

World War II introduced paper rationing, which impacted the growth of the Kalmbach Publishing Company.

In 1949 Kalmbach Publishing launched a national ad campaign promoting the hobby to the general public.

Kalmbach was an early booster and benefactor of the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA).